Grievances And Other Things

Emptiness with a bit more nothing

I live in Nuuk, Greenland. A town that pretends to be a city. I could technically be grateful, I live in the biggest city and the capital. But why? Greenland has nothing. Nothing but icy wastes and icier people. Greenland has no rail, no motorways, just airports and harbours. I go to the Fåmigudherfra School with my friends. There's nothing special about my school. Just as soulless as the rest of Nuuk. Nightlife? In Nuuk, nightlife is catching fish at midnight. The people here are more boring than slices of toast. I just wish I could go somewhere else, just somewhere. Get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Berlin, go drink some café au lait in Paris, hell, I'd even take Reykjavik or Copenhagen. I just want out of this boring country. My name, you ask? Åle Kivjørs, but to be honest I'd rather be a Kyle or a Tyler or a Justin. So anyway, school's starting. "Studying abroad, volunteers?" Nobody puts their hand up. "This time it's not to Trondheim nor the Faroes." A sigh of relief runs through the class. The teacher stares at us. "This time, we're going to be offering Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. Anybody?" Copenhagen! Stockholm! Oslo! There is hope! Maybe I can escape the people that are as dead inside as I am. I could have a life! I immediately put my hand up. "Ah, Åle, so you want to go study abroad." I nod. "Yes, Mr. Låmï." The teacher eyes me with his usual hateful stare he always has. "So you think you can go to Copenhagen. We'll see about that. Here's the info papers. With any luck I'll have one less annoying brat of a student." Yes, our teacher hates us, but can you blame him? He lives in a country that's described as "Emptiness with a bit more nothing"! I just wish I could go somewhere, where I belong. The hustle, the bustle, the people... summer in the city park, then head out for Starbucks... daydreaming is great. School becomes a mere framing device for the story my dreams, wishes and desires tell. Hell, school isn't even important to me. I just want to pass, go to college in a city that isn't in the middle of nowhere, and then live there. I look through the information, and a smile creeps onto my face. Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm. Glory is just a yes away. I get home after class, and as the bus disappears, I get to my apartment. "Hey mom! Great news! I want to study abroad!" Mom's from Denmark, but she moved here with her family when she was young and, as Noora would put it, culturally appropriated the shit out of Greenland. "Where, Åle?" I show her the info papers, the smile on my face wider than the cheshire cat's. "Copenhagen, Oslo... They're all so far away..." I frown. She's trying her best to keep me from going. "But isn't it important for me to visit other countries, broaden my horizons and learn more about different cultures?" She nods. "Sure, but... I'm not sure. I'll have to talk to your father about it." I just have to get dad convinced. Then I'll finally be in a huge city, where I belong!

~~~~

"Son, you want to go to these places, eh? Why not America?" America!? "You could stay with your aunt, you could improve your English, you could learn a lot!" America!? "But dad, America's not on the list!" He nods. "Yes, but, I've found a different exchange company. If I can get them to accept you, you can finally visit your aunt in America!" My aunt is from Greenland, but she moved there after studying Animation and Law there and has since become a full-time animator. This will be sweet! "Sure, that sounds excellent!" I can't believe it. I'm going to America! My dreams have finally come true! After supper, I fall into bed. My phone buzzes. It's my girlfriend. "Go online, dammit!" I open my laptop and see a bunch of ICQ messages from her. "Åle, I love you, also please tell me what we did in Maths class." I chuckle. "Nothing of any importance. As usual. But good news! I'm going to America!" Typing. "You are? OMG. Really?" I smile. "Yeah." I stare out of my window as snow falls to the ground. "I'm so jealous, Åle." I smirk. "I'll bring you a Starbucks cup." Typing. "Really? OMG, please please please!" I hear my father's voice. "Lights out, Åle!" I snort. "Dad, I'm not five." I hear dad's sarcastic sigh. "Alright." I turn to my laptop. "Sure, darling. I'm gonna go sleep now, it's like 10:00pm, and we've got early school tomorrow. Love you!" With that, I close my laptop, plug it in to charge, and lie down in my bed. America. The land of my dreams. I can't wait to get out of that plane and see the huge masses of people. It's going to be simply amazing.

~~~~

"Åle, you want to go on a private trip?" I nod. "Yes, Mr. Låmï!" He looks at the letter. "To America. Without school funding. Are you sure?" I nod. "Okay, I'll pass it on to the director." He puts the paper onto the desk. "Algebra." So class started. Fantastic. A soft, lifeless groan emerges from the students. "Hey, it's my lesson and I'll do algebra if I want to." Noora raises her hand excitedly. "Yes, Miss Kavzons." She smiles. "I believe the line goes 'It's my party and I'll cry if I want to', if I'm not mistaken." A sigh can be heard from the front row. "Quiet, Aatu. Noora Kavzons, you decided to interrupt my lesson just to correct an off-handed comment? I could suspend you for that if I were in a bad mood. Don't ever think of doing that ever again, okay?" She nods, and the teacher turns towards the board and starts scribbling. I stare at my book and start drawing. I draw comics, and one day, I hope to do a webcomic. But sadly, I don't have a graphic tablet, I don't have a professional drawing program, all I have is a scanner. And scanned-in drawings don't make for good-looking comics. Plus I'd need a place to publish them. Ah well. Emilio, the guy next to me, passes me a note. "Hey, up for some MarioKart at my place?" I nod. "Yeah." He whispers. "This time, you won't beat me in battle mode!" Mr. Låmï raises his voice. "Emilio Yennophya, what are you conspiring?" Emilio shakes his head. "Nothing, Mr. Låmï." The teacher nods. "Good, how it should be." Fåmigudherfra School is a very prestigious school, and we have the threat of the school inspector popping up randomly every week, so we've got to be on our best behaviour all the time. Not that we do that, though. We usually just do what we want. We're not a very obedient class. Except for today, where rumour has it that the meddling inspector is going to show up. And when I say meddling, I mean it. He's like a bull in a damn china shop. Always bumping into our desks, being a major distraction, sometimes taking our papers while we're writing to look through them. And doesn't apologise once. He's basically a huge scumbag. Nothing about him is nice. Class finishes and we walk to the break area. I lean against the wall and put some music on from my iPod. My girlfriend agreed to meet me here, and I'm waiting for her to arrive. I close my eyes, and as I open them, she's there. "Hey, Åle... We need to talk..." I sit down. "Go ahead." Her eyes dart. "Well... Um... There's someone else. I... Don't feel anything for you anymore..." I stare at the floor. She isn't, is she? "It's not you, it's me..." She is, isn't she. "I'm breaking up with you."